Dear Cardinals,
On Wednesday, Oct. 26, there were campaign flyers placed on car windshields on campus. We want you to know that distribution of these flyers was not approved and did not follow our posting policy as outlined in the student handbook.
This incident serves as a reminder that it is time for us as a community to review our policies surrounding political activity.
The university’s political activity policy states:
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (the university) is a 501(c) (3) charitable organization and will not participate or intervene in political campaign activity in support of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office. IRS rules and regulations prohibit the university from the following activities:
- Endorsing candidates,
- Making campaign contributions,
- Engaging in fundraising,
- Making statements of position, verbal or written, on behalf of the institution in favor of or opposition to any candidate,
- Making partisan comments in official university publications or at official functions,
- Becoming involved in any other activity that might be beneficial or detrimental to any candidate, including activities encouraging an individual to vote for or against a candidate based on partisan criteria, or
- Hosting a debate or forum showing a preference for or against a certain candidate (Political Activity Policy)
The university does have a campaign access policy which requires candidates to make arrangements with the Office of Student Affairs to schedule a time to visit the campus for tabling and/or door-to-door campaigning (Campaign Access Policy).
In addition to the aforementioned policies, the university does not permit candidate endorsement displays in windows (Residence Life Window Policy/Posting Policy).
We encourage you to vote in the upcoming elections. Minnesota is a same-day registration state. The university works closely with the Winona County Board of Elections, and as a Saint Mary’s student, you may visit the local polling station with your photo ID and student ID. The local polling station is Radiant Church, 850 Highway 14, Winona.
If you have any questions regarding the policies surrounding political activity, please contact the Office of Student Affairs at studentaffairs@smumn.edu or vpstudentaffairs@smumn.edu.
If you want to engage in non-partisan events and activities, please reach out to the Student Senate Vice President for Public Affairs, Riley Hall, at rmhall19@smumn.edu.
All the best,
Marisa Naryka, Ed.D.
Vice President for Mission and Student Affairs
